Safety closure cap

ABSTRACT

A safety closure cap is described for use in sealing medicine packages and other packages where it is desirable that persons such as young children cannot open the package. The cap has an inner shell with container engaging thread means and an outer shell rotatably attached to and covering at least a substantial portion of the inner shell. Ratchet means on the shells locks them together when they are turned onto the container as the package is sealed or resealed. The ratchet means is inoperative when the closure cap is turned off so that the outer shell freely rotates on the inner shell. A separate shell connecting means is provided for removal comprising pressure interlock means which may be activated by an adult user&#39;&#39;s gripping portions of the shells at a particular location causing them to rotate as a unit and permitting the closure cap to be twisted off of the container.

ted States Patent [1 1 Acton et al.

[ Nov. 4, 1975 SAFETY CLOSURE CAP [75] Inventors: Daniel D. Acton, Lancaster; Carl E.

Koontz, Thornville, both of Ohio [73] Assignee: Anchor Hocking Corporation,

Lancaster, Ohio [22] Filed: Oct. 17, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 515,647

[52] US. Cl. 215/219 [51] Int. Cl. B65D 55/02 [58] Field of Search 215/91, 219

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,027,035 3/1962 Farago 215/219 3,843,006 10/1974 Naito et a1 215/9 Primary ExaminerGeorge T. Hall Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Holland, Armstrong, Wilkie & Previto [57] ABSTRACT A safety closure cap is described for use in sealing medicine packages and other packages where it is desirable that persons such as young children cannot open the package. The cap has an inner shell with container engaging thread means and an outer shell rotatably attached to and covering at least a substantial portion of the inner shell. Ratchet means on the shells locks them together when they are turned onto the container as the package is sealed or resealed. The ratchet means is inoperative when the closure cap is turned off so that the outer shell freely rotates on the inner shell. A separate shell connecting means is provided for removal comprising pressure interlock means which may be activated by an adult users gripping portions of the shells at a particular location causing them to rotate as a unit and permitting the closure cap to be twisted off of the container.

25 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 1 of5 3,917,098

US. Patent No\ 4, 1975 Sheet 2 of5 3,917,098

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 4 of5 3,917,098

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 5 of5 3,917,098

SAFETY CLOSURE CAP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to safety closures for containers and more particularly to safety closures which may not be removed from a container by young children and which require manipulation by a person having adult gripping and reasoning powers. A closure cap is provided for sealing medicine packages and other packages where it is desirable to prevent free access to the contents and to protect young children and others from harm by unauthorized or accidental use of the products.

A variety of such safety closures have been designed for use with medicine and other potentially dangerous products. These prior designs have in certain cases been effective but have been found to be too difficult for use by normal adults. In other cases, safety closures have been too easily removed by young children or have been unduly complicated either in the closure structure or in their use of a special and relatively expensive cooperating finish on the glass or other container. Additionally, prior safety closure caps in many cases are not readily applied to containers during the initial sealing operation by conventional closure cap hoppering, feeding, sealing, labeling, and inspecting machinery.

These objections are overcome by the provision of a closure cap having an inner and an outer shell which are rotatably interconnected. A ratchet coupling means is provided for locking the shells together only when they are turned onto a container and a second connecting means, activated by an appropriately applied pressure grip of the user, is provided to interlock the shells for closure cap removal.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved safety closure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety closure which is characterized by being easily applied during the initial sealing, which resists removal by children, and which is readily removed by responsible adults.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved safety package comprising an improved safety closure and a container with a conventional closure engaging means.

Another object of the invention is to provide an effective safety closure which is relatively easily manufactured and which may be handled by conventional container sealing machinery.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a safety package sealed with the safety closure of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the package of FIG. 1 with the closure cap removed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, partially cut away, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the safety closure cap.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the closure cap of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the closure cap of FIG. 3 applied to the threaded neck of a glass container.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are horizontal sectional views of the closure cap of FIG. 3-illustrating a coupling ratchet in its cap applying and in its cap removal actions, respectively.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the sealed package of FIG. 5 illustrating the removal of the safety closure from the container.

FIGS. 99 and 10 are horizontal sectional views illustrating the closure removal locking means in its cap sealing and in its cap removal positions, respectively.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a package sealed with a safety closure.

FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional view of the package of FIG. 11 illustrating the removal of the closure from the container.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the safety closure of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a still further embodiment of a safety package sealed with a safety closure.

FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional view of the sealed package of FIG. 14. I

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the safety closure cap of FIG. 15.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the safety package and the safety closure cap will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 10.

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical package 1 of the type used for products such as medicines where it is advantageous to have a safety closure. The package 1 includes a glass or plastic container 2 sealed by a safety closure cap 3 in accordance with the present invention. The safety closure cap 3 is removed by the users manipulating the cap 3 in a particular way and which, as will be described below, is a manner not readily performed by small children or by other irresponsible persons. In FIG. 2 the cap 3 is shown removed from the container 2 which has a conventional neck portion 4 including a closure engaging means suc as a screw thread 5 similar to that used for engaging regular molded plastic or other closure caps.

The preferred embodiment of the safety closure cap 3 in accordance with the present invention includes a cup-shaped outer shell 6 rotatably attached to a smaller nesting inner shell 7. Relative rotation is provided for by the loose fit between the shells. The two shells 6 and 7 are held in their nested position as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5 by an inwardly projecting bead 8 on the lower edge of the skirt 9 of the outer cap shell 6. When the safety closure cap 3 is applied to the container 2 during a regular sealing operation, as with automatic sealing equipment or otherwise, it is desirable that the inner and outer shells 6 and 7 turn as a unit when sealing torque is applied to the outer surface of the outer shell 6. In order to provide this result, a ratchet 10 is provided for locking the shells 6 and 7 for simultaneous action when the outer shell 6 is turned onto the container 2. The ratchet provides no interlock when the outer shell 6 is turned in the opposite or the cap removing direction. The ratchet 10 thus permits the outer shell 6 to turn freely on the inner shell 7 and the container 2 when the user attempts to remove the closure cap 3 from the container 2 in the ordinary way.

A circular cavity 11 is provided in the underside of the outer cap shell 6 cover 12 to receive the ratchet pawl members 13. The generally circular edge of the cavity 11 has a number of ratchet teeth 14 (FIG. 6) formed on it with generally radially oriented pawl engaging surfaces 15 as best seen in FIG. 6. A plurality of the flexible pawl members 13 are integrally formed on the top 16 of the inner shell 7. This unitary construction includes a support section 17 preferably molded as an integral portion of the inner shell top 16 from which the flexible pawl members 13 project. The above described pawl 10 is conveniently formed as a unitary molded member with the inner shell 7 including the skirt l8 and container engaging threads 19 (FIG. 5).

When the outer shell 6 is turned in a clockwise direction (FIG. 6) during cap application, the ratchet teeth 14 move into engagement with the pointed outer ends 20 of the pawl members 13 causing the inner shell 7 to turn with the outer shell 6 and causing the cap threads 19 to turn onto the complementary threads 5 on the container neck 4.

When the outer cap shell 6 is turned in the opposite or counterclockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 7, the ratchet teeth 14 snap over the flexible pawl member 13 permitting the outer shell 6 to rotate on the inner shell 7 so that the ratchet 10 provides no coupling force to permit the disengagement of the cap and container threads.

An independent interlocking means is provided for releasably connecting the inner and outer cap shells 6 and 7 for cap removal. This means comprises a flexible lower portion of the skirt 9 of the outer cap shell 6 and the adjacent outer surface of the skirt 18 inner cap shell 7. In order to remove the cap 3, the skirt 9 of the outer cap shell 6 must be pressed inwardly using a firm finger pressure in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 8. This pressure on the cap skirt 3 which only may he satisfactorily applied by a person with mature hands, results in an interlock between the skirt portions 9 and 18 of the two cap shells 6 and 7 and permits the user to turn the inner shell 7 along with the outer shell 6 to turn the cap 3 from the container in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2. This cap removal action is facilitated by the use of a number of spaced slots 22 on the inner surface of the outer shell 6 skirt 9 and a similar number of cooperating lugs or projections 21 positioned on the outer surface of the skirt 18 of the inner cap shell 7.

As the user presses inwardly on the closure cap skirt 9 and turns the outer shell 6, the slots 22 and lugs 21 will become aligned and engaged in the manner illustrated in FIG. 10 permitting the closure cap 2 to be turned off of the container 3. The thickness of the skirt 9 of the outer cap shell 6 is proportioned so that the necessary skirt deformation required for cap removal may only be obtained by a user having both mature finger size and strength.

The shells 6 and 7 of the closure cap 3 may be molded from conventional plastics presently used for molded closure caps with the shell dimensions being proportioned to provide the necessary cap strength and with the skirt portions of the inner and outer shells FIGS. 11 through 13 illustrate another embodiment of the invention. A safety closure cap 30 seals a container 31 and has a similar ratchet coupling 32 and a modified cap removal coupling 33, 34.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, an inner shell 35 and an outer shell 36 are connected by a connecting bearing 37 and a coupling pin 38. The closure cap 30 and the ratchet 32 operate in the manner described above during cap application to provide for the simultaneous rotation of the inner shell 35 and the outer shell 36. A friction or interlocking action between the cap shell skirts 39 and 40 of the inner shell 35 and the outer shell 36 causes the cap threads 42 to turn on the container threads 43 for cap removal. In the embodiment of the removal coupling illustrated, a knurled or roughened zone 33 is formed on the skirt 40 of the outer shell 36 and a number of spaced gripping projections 34, which may have friction surfaces, are provided on the outer surface of the skirt 39 of the inner shell 35. A sealing gasket 41 is provided within the inner cap shell 35.

Another embodiment of the safety closure cap in accordance with the invention is illustrated at 50in FIGS. 14 through 16. The cap 50 has a similar arrangement. of inner and outer shells 51 and 52 with a ratchet means 53 for cap application and with a separate user gripped ring 54 for cap removal. The inner shell 51 and outer shell 52 are connected by a bearing button 61 with the ratchet means 53 including pawl arms 62 on the inner shell 51 and cooperating ratchet teeth 56 (FIG. 15) on the outer shell 52. The interlocking means for cap removal comprises the exposed gripping ring 54 at the bottom of the inner cap shell 51 which exposes a limited gripping surface 55 for cap removal. The surface 55 is gripped by the package user to turn the inner shell 51 on the container to disengage the cap threads 57 and container threads 58. The surface 55, for example, may have a vertical exposed surface of about one-sixteenth or so of an inch on a regular 28 millimeter medicine cap having a cap skirt 59 of about one-half an inch. This relatively small surface may only be gripped sufficiently tightly for cap removal by mature fingers. The cap 50 is removed in the manner illustrated in FIG. 14 by the user gripping the exposed surface 55 of the ring 54 together with the skirt portion 59 on the outer shell 52 above it. Otherwise, the outer cap shell 52 rotates freely on the inner shell 51 and thus on been provided which combines convenience of initial sealing together with a capability of being removed only by mature product users. The cap is, for example,

incapable of being removed by small children or other incompetent persons. The improved safety closure may be formed of only two principal portions which are eas-,

ily molded from existing plastic materials in conventional cap manufacturing equipment.

A relatively simple and effective safety closure cap is provided for use on a'variety of containers and particu- I larly for use on medicine packages where the product is potentionally dangerous for use by immature per-.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A safety closure cap for sealing a container comprising the combination of an outer shell having a top and a depending skirt, an inner shell having a top and a depending skirt, means for rotatively coupling said shells together in nesting relationship, screw-type container engaging means on said inner shell for engaging cap engaging means on the container, ratchet means on said shells for coupling said shells when turned in a cap applying direction and permitting relative rotation between said shells in a cap unscrewing direction, and pressure operated means at the shell skirts for causing said shells to turn together when unscrewed from the container.

2. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said ratchet means comprises a pawl member on the top of one of said shells and cooperating ratchet teeth on a facing surface of the top of the other of said shells.

3. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 2 in which said pawl member comprises a plurality of elongated members extending outwardly from a central support and being formed integrally with said one shell, and said teeth being positioned around the circular outer edge of a cavity in said other shell.

4. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said coupling means comprises bead means extending from one of said shell skirts and engaging the other of said shell skirts.

5. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 4 in which said bead extends radially inwardly from the lower edge of the skirt of the outer shell and beneath at least a portion of the lower edge of the skirt of said inner shell.

6. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said coupling means comprises a bearing means connecting said shell covers.

7. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said pressure operated means comprises a flexible lower portion of the skirt of said outer shell.

8. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 7 which further comprises interlocking slots and projections provided on facing surfaces of said depending skirts.

9. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said pressure operated means comprises roughened areas on at least one of the two facing surfaces of said inner and outer shell skirts.

10. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 9 in which said roughened surfaces comprises a knurled area.

11. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 9 which further comprises projections on the other of said facing surfaces.

12. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said pressure operated means comprises a relatively narrow outwardly directed ring at the lower edge of the skirt of said inner shell having an exposed gripping surface adjacent the lower edge of the skirt of said outer shell.

13. A safety closure cap for sealing a container comprising the combination of an outer shell having a top and a depending skirt, means for rotatively coupling said shells together in nesting relationship, screw-type container engaging means on said inner shell for engaging cap engaging means on the container, ratchet means on said shells for coupling said shells when turned in a cap applying direction and permitting relative rotation between said shells in a cap unscrewing direction comprising a pawl member on the top of one of said shells and cooperating ratchet teeth on a facing surface of the top of the other of said shells, and pressure operated means at the shell skirts for causing said shells to turn together when unscrewed from the container comprising a flexible lower portion of the skirt of said outer shell.

14. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 13 in which said pawl member comprises a plurality of elongated pawls extending outwardly from a central support and being formed integrally with said one shell, and said teeth being positioned around the circular outer edge of a cavity in said other shell.

15. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 13, in which said coupling means comprises bead means extending from one of said shell skirts and engaging the other of said shell skirts.

16. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 15, in which said bead extends radially inwardly from the lower edge of the skirt of the outer shell and beneath at least a portion of the lower edge of the skirt of said inner shell.

17. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 13 in which said coupling means comprises a bearing means connecting said shell covers.

18. A safety package comprising a container sealed with a closure cap with screw-type cap engaging means at its mouth, said closure cap comprising the combination of an outer shell having a top and a depending skirt, an inner shell having a top and a depending skirt, means for rotatively coupling said shells together in nesting relationship, screw-type container engaging means on said inner shell for engaging the cap engaging means on the container mouth, ratchet means on said shells for coupling said shells when turned in a cap applying direction and permitting relative rotation between said shells in a cap unscrewing direction, and pressure operated means at the shell skirts for causing said shells to turn together when unscrewed from the container.

19. The safety package as claimed in claim 18 in which said ratchet means comprises a pawl member on the top of one of said shells and cooperating ratchet teeth on a facing surface of the top of the other of said shells.

20. The safety package as claimed in claim 19 in which said pawl member comprises a plurality of elongated members extending outwardly from a central support and being formed integrally with said one shell, and said teeth being positioned around the circular outer edge of a cavity in said other shell.

21. The safety package as claimed in claim 18 in which said coupling means comprises bead means extending from one of said shell skirts and engaging the other of said shell skirts.

22. The safety package as claimed in claim 21 in which said bead extends radially inwardly from the lower edge of the skirt of the outer shell and beneath at least a portion of the lower edge of the skirt of said inner shell.

23. The safety package as claimed in claim 18 in ble lower portion of the skirt of said outer shell. which said coupling means comprises a bearing means 25. The safety package as claimed in claim 24 which connecting said shell covers. further comprises interlocking slots and projections 24. The safety package as claimed in claim 18 in provided on facing surfaces of said depending skirts. which said pressure operated means comprises a flexi- 

1. A safety closure cap for sealing a container comprising the combination of an outer shell having a top and a depending skirt, an inner shell having a top and a depending skirt, means for rotatively coupling said shells together in nesting relationship, screw-type container engaging means on said inner shell for engaging cap engaging means on the container, ratchet means on said shells for coupling said shells when turned in a cap applying direction and permitting relative rotation between said shells in a cap unscrewing direction, and pressure operated means at the shell skirts for causing said shells to turn together when unscrewed from the container.
 2. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said ratchet means comprises a pawl member on the top of one of said shells and cooperating ratchet teeth on a facing surface of the top of the other of said shells.
 3. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 2 in which said pawl member comprises a plurality of elongatEd members extending outwardly from a central support and being formed integrally with said one shell, and said teeth being positioned around the circular outer edge of a cavity in said other shell.
 4. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said coupling means comprises bead means extending from one of said shell skirts and engaging the other of said shell skirts.
 5. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 4 in which said bead extends radially inwardly from the lower edge of the skirt of the outer shell and beneath at least a portion of the lower edge of the skirt of said inner shell.
 6. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said coupling means comprises a bearing means connecting said shell covers.
 7. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said pressure operated means comprises a flexible lower portion of the skirt of said outer shell.
 8. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 7 which further comprises interlocking slots and projections provided on facing surfaces of said depending skirts.
 9. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said pressure operated means comprises roughened areas on at least one of the two facing surfaces of said inner and outer shell skirts.
 10. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 9 in which said roughened surfaces comprises a knurled area.
 11. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 9 which further comprises projections on the other of said facing surfaces.
 12. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 1 in which said pressure operated means comprises a relatively narrow outwardly directed ring at the lower edge of the skirt of said inner shell having an exposed gripping surface adjacent the lower edge of the skirt of said outer shell.
 13. A safety closure cap for sealing a container comprising the combination of an outer shell having a top and a depending skirt, means for rotatively coupling said shells together in nesting relationship, screw-type container engaging means on said inner shell for engaging cap engaging means on the container, ratchet means on said shells for coupling said shells when turned in a cap applying direction and permitting relative rotation between said shells in a cap unscrewing direction comprising a pawl member on the top of one of said shells and cooperating ratchet teeth on a facing surface of the top of the other of said shells, and pressure operated means at the shell skirts for causing said shells to turn together when unscrewed from the container comprising a flexible lower portion of the skirt of said outer shell.
 14. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 13 in which said pawl member comprises a plurality of elongated pawls extending outwardly from a central support and being formed integrally with said one shell, and said teeth being positioned around the circular outer edge of a cavity in said other shell.
 15. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 13, in which said coupling means comprises bead means extending from one of said shell skirts and engaging the other of said shell skirts.
 16. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 15, in which said bead extends radially inwardly from the lower edge of the skirt of the outer shell and beneath at least a portion of the lower edge of the skirt of said inner shell.
 17. The safety closure cap as claimed in claim 13 in which said coupling means comprises a bearing means connecting said shell covers.
 18. A safety package comprising a container sealed with a closure cap with screw-type cap engaging means at its mouth, said closure cap comprising the combination of an outer shell having a top and a depending skirt, an inner shell having a top and a depending skirt, means for rotatively coupling said shells together in nesting relationship, screw-type container engaging means on said inner shell for engaging the cap engaging means on the container mouth, ratchet means on said shells for coupling said shells when turned in a cap applying direcTion and permitting relative rotation between said shells in a cap unscrewing direction, and pressure operated means at the shell skirts for causing said shells to turn together when unscrewed from the container.
 19. The safety package as claimed in claim 18 in which said ratchet means comprises a pawl member on the top of one of said shells and cooperating ratchet teeth on a facing surface of the top of the other of said shells.
 20. The safety package as claimed in claim 19 in which said pawl member comprises a plurality of elongated members extending outwardly from a central support and being formed integrally with said one shell, and said teeth being positioned around the circular outer edge of a cavity in said other shell.
 21. The safety package as claimed in claim 18 in which said coupling means comprises bead means extending from one of said shell skirts and engaging the other of said shell skirts.
 22. The safety package as claimed in claim 21 in which said bead extends radially inwardly from the lower edge of the skirt of the outer shell and beneath at least a portion of the lower edge of the skirt of said inner shell.
 23. The safety package as claimed in claim 18 in which said coupling means comprises a bearing means connecting said shell covers.
 24. The safety package as claimed in claim 18 in which said pressure operated means comprises a flexible lower portion of the skirt of said outer shell.
 25. The safety package as claimed in claim 24 which further comprises interlocking slots and projections provided on facing surfaces of said depending skirts. 